Saint Sarah Beats Expectations in Saint Paul

Dividing a presidential convention between two cities -- Minneapolis and Saint Paul -- that are a half hour cab ride apart is a very good way to deflate enthusiasm and raw political energy, but tonight. . .finally. . .this convention woke up with a spark provided by former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani and then a powerful home run speech by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Expectations of Palin had been set so low by all of those who doubted her abilities and experience that perhaps any semi-competent talk would have done the trick, but clearly she was comfortable speaking powerfully to tens of millions on television and a packed stadium in St. Paul.

Substantively, I strongly disagreed with her tongue-in-cheek dismissal of Obama for wanting to stand by those who deserve to have their rights read to them in a way consistent with democracy. She portrayed herself as being a believer in liberty -- distrustful of government, and then seemed to argue that some accused (possible terrorists) didn't deserve the benefit of doubt that liberty promises and argued that an empowered government could judge who was evil and who was innocent without regard for basic human rights.

Palin talked a lot about fiscal responsibility, of sacking her chef, and selling former Senator and Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski's state-provided luxury plane on EBay and wanting to bring those practices to Washington -- but she mentioned nothing of the irresponsibility of waging the second most expensive war in American history with no regard to raising revenue to pay for it.

Like Bush and McCain and Cheney, Sarah Palin embraces war and lowering taxes. Suggesting that that is a fiscally responsible posture is neo-Orwellian.

Palin tried to build on the silly meme that Obama is somehow positioning himself as a modern Messiah:

What does he actually seek to accomplish, after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet? The answer is to make government bigger. . .

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It is the government of George W. Bush that she and McCain are trying to succeed that has made the reach of government into people's private lives the most extensive and invasive in modern history -- and the size of government as measured by the gap between receipts and expenditures is also the largest in American experience.

Palin, like George W. Bush and Cheney, seems to think that by asserting falsehoods or juxtaposing contradictory goals like maintaining a large forward based troop presence in Iraq but keeping taxes from going up sells just fine to Americans.

She may be right. I think that in contrast to Obama -- whose selection of Joe Biden was smart and important in shoring up the Obama Team's gravitas -- Palin has been set up by McCain to be a new kind of 21st century "saint."

She has a large, seemingly wonderful family -- juggles her home cooking with running a large state as its chief executive. She has a snow mobile racing husband who is a North Shore oilman and she tackles corrupt "lobbying interests" and their cozy deals with politicos wherever she goes.

It's a great story on many levels. Her husband is even a member of the United Steel Workers. Faint applause on that line though.

But despite my substantive differences with Palin, this performance tonight beat expectations and moved her to a new level. Her competition at this incredibly flat, low energy confab in St. Paul is thin -- so one could easily argue that she had a lot of room to pull off a success. But that is too cynical.

She did a great job -- and stared her doubters and the challenge down.

There is much about Sarah Palin we don't know yet. Unlike Biden and Obama, we didn't get much time to have our own public vetting of her before McCain's decision -- so there will be more fits and starts and twists and turns as other parts of her life are dredged up, over-analyzed, and judged by the American public.

But this is going to be very close race, particularly if nothing new and surprising shows up on Palin.

What no one will say just yet -- but which I think the McCain folks tried to convey is that "Saint Sarah" just made her real debut in Saint Paul.

-- Steve Clemons publishes the popular political blog, The Washington Note

Comments

[Mitch 4 President]

"Palin talked a lot about fiscal responsibility, of sacking her chef, and selling former Senator and Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski's state-provided luxury plane on EBay and wanting to bring those practices to Washington"

So, how long after taking office will she put Air Force One and Two up for auction?

And people say she offered no substantive economic strategies.

Way to reduce the deficit, Sarah! You go girl!!!

[crystalclear2828]

I totally disagree with the fact that is was a good speech, what it was .. a lot of "hot air!" It's going nowhere, I guess it just like the "road to nowhere!" OBAMA/BIDEN 08!!!!!

[jimbeaux1961]

"Powerful Home-Run Speech"?! I suppose if your qualifications are that the speech be divisive, full of lies and written by someone else then, sure; it was. Oh, and now she's being tutored on foreign policy by Bush's former advisors. God help the USA.

[Mather]

You know what's interesting? Whoever wrote her speech (see the prepared text via the link in this article) was sufficiently afraid that Palin would mispronounce "nuclear" (it appears twice, once regarding energy, once regarding weapons), presumably by the Bushian "nucular", that they wrote it phonetically. Both times, it's written "new-clear".

Isn't that weird?

[Woodfella]

I keep seeing posts about McCain's lack of judgement for picking Palin as his VP.

My question is, why in the heck did Obama pick that dinosaur Bidden?
Had Obama picked Hillary then this election would be in the bag. Over! No contest!

If Obama loses this election then this will be the primary reason. Could it be his lack of judgement and experience in not chosing Hillary?

[tuttlemsm]

Stop the gushing.

She gave a typical Republican speech. No more, no less.

It was hateful, hurtful, ridiculed people trying to make a positive difference in the world, and was your run-of-the-mill hatchet job.

In the long run, this will backfire. Palin doesn't know her role. She's supposed to be America's Sweetheart. She's supposed to be the Lifetime Movie of the Week, the Jimmy Stewart-meets-Erin Brockovich narrative where an ordinary mom teaches us What America is All About.

Instead, she's trying to be a Spiro Agnew-like hatchet woman. Which I think is just great news for the dems. Being America's Sweetheart makes your scandals and shortcomings sympathetic. Being the hatchet-woman may be fun for Palin, but it suddenly will make her scandals and shortcomings the far-less-sympathetic subject of the scrutiny it richly deserves.

[american2008]

For you "honest" Repubs out there, please answer this. What do you think the same Evangelical right wingers who are so happy with Palin and her family, what would these same people say if Obama had a 17 year old black daughter pregnant and unmarried? Do you think they would be supportive and pro family or would they be their usual "She is a welfare mom and why should our taxes go to these people to support her mistake? Do you think that FOX would be blasting them 24/7?

[Dididi]

Sarah Palin was always in the plan. As usual the media has been duped. She's not a quick study. This has been going on all along. They started vetting her after Mrs. Clinton lost her big for the Dems. It's amazing to me how stupid the electorate is. Mrs. is more the same.

[GabrielXL]

Let me say this, that as an Independent, if Sarah Palin had "hit it out of the park" as some have been saying, I would have said so. (Not that my opinion counts anymore than theirs.) I do agree that she could be a major player (in time) if her past doesn't catch up with her. (Good luck with that.) What I got out of her monologue, was not the idea that McCain had picked the right running mate, but that I still don't know any more about what the Republicans plan to do about what's wrong with America. What's more (and this really infuriates me) is that the lies and obvious exaggerations about Obama's positions and what they will mean to Americans were the most off-putting aspects of the entire speech, if not, the entire convention (or what I watched of it). Listen, I understand the concept of putting pressure on your opponent, but usually that entails fact driven evidence to contradict their position. Of course as I type this, I know the "Don't let facts get in the way." mantra of the GOP is at full play. At the end of the day, all her speech and the convention thus far has done for "this voter", is justify every reason why I think Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the best choice for America.

Obama/Biden '08

[Woodfella]

I love the smell of liberal fear in the morning.

[FirstShirt]

Palin has the same credentials Bill Clinton had when he became President.

[UnbiasView]

She doesn't like cigars though . . .

[TexasDem0]

Still posting nonsense. Thanks for the laughs.

[snarkopolitan]

Whose expectations were low? Nobody has said she is stupid. She is willfully ignorant, ruthless, peremptory, driven, either gutsy or foolhardy or both, but not stupid.
She was on-air "talent" for a while, where she polished her teleprompter chops, and she was preaching to the converted, who practically raptured right there. The speech was written by an army of consultants, who saw she had a talent for nastiness and went with it.

Now McCain has to not screw up HIS moment, or at least stay alive through it. The hall will go crazy, Sarah will return to do more aerobic waving, her still shell-shocked kids behind her, they'll drag out the newly groomed groom-to-be and the baby again .

It may be their last good night. The steady flow of Fascinating Sarah Facts will continue. Could Huffpost please include the Mat Maid Dairy Scandal? It's my favorite. Firings, cronyism, milk libations poured onto the frozen earth, cheese futures. Please, HuffingtonPost? Please?

[UnbiasView]

"Nobody has said she is stupid"

Ahh, actually, yes they did.

[KHAAANNN]

No. They didn't.
"Incompetent" is not the same thing as "Stupid" (although it IS a close cousin)
Take yourself for example..............

[mk3872]

But it is all fluff and BS, isn't it?

You REALLY think that Palin "handles" 5 kids?? Really??

Either as mayor and gov she had much less responsibility than she claims or nannies and her husband "handle" the kids.

See, it IS the same as with a man. The reverse is equally true: If a woman can work in govt full time with kids just like a man, that also means a woman who works full time in govt is NOT "handling" the kids, just like Biden or Obama do not "handle" their kids. Someone else is doing THAT work.

[box101]

Agreed. Her Husband is even called the "Shadow Governer". In fact, his name keeps cropping up in the in the Troopergate investigation.
"Frank Bailey, a member of Palin's administration, was caught on tape in August 2008 on a phone call with another trooper in which he questioned why Wooten was still on staff, seemingly speaking on behalf of Palin. " An excerpt from the conversation: "You know, Todd and Sarah are scratching their heads, you know, why on Earth -- why is this guy still representing the department?" says Bailey on the call
And the recently disclosed email.. "That e-mail came a few weeks after Palin's husband, Todd, met with Monegan to press the case for action against Wooten..."
http://www.andrewhalcro.com/shadow_governor

[DEMatHEART]

She's the love child of Annie Oakley (gun-totin', tough-talkin') and Anita Bryant (the Florida former beauty queen-turned homophobe).

This woman is damned scary! Palin is:

Against abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. This is offensive to those who hold the right of choice to be sacred and private. The world is not so black and white.

She does NOT believe that global warming is caused by humans. Does she have some super-human knowledge of this?

She was demeaning and dismissive about Obama's community organizing. Obama devoted his career to helping those affected by economic hardship and job loss. Some compassion !

She received earmarks from the very establishment in Washington which she now decries. I guess it's OK to decry them, once you've already been the beneficiary of them!

She does not believe polar bears should be on the endangered species list.

She wants creationism taught in the public schools, along with evolution. This is 2008, Ms. Palin - and the earth is not flat!

Wake up, voters! We are one Supreme Court justice away from stripping women of their rights. Palin and her new disciples are going to send our country back to the 1920s!

She did not mention the economy or health care ONCE in her speech! Hello? I thought the election was about the PEOPLE! THINK ABOUT WAHT SHE'S SAYING, and do everything in your power to keep her from moving out of AK, and into DC!

[joekerr]

Try as I might, I just cannot stay silent about that speech. I live in the Bay Area, San Francisco to be exact and I've gotta say that despite the multitude of lies and rhetorical slight of hand last night, Palin did tell the truth about one thing. She's a pit bull with lipstick. Could she be more out of touch? To compare SF with Scranton was one of the most insulting things I've ever witnessed come out of a politician's mouth. I don't know about you, but I felt she was implying a whole host of things about my city, my AMERICAN city. Does she really believe that we are over here, having love fests in the streets and flowers in our hair while the good people in Scranton work themselves to the bone? Does she think we don't cling to religion and guns because we are a bunch of elitist wimps? I STRONGLY disagree. We don't cling to religion out here because there truly is freedom. I can walk down the street here and find a mosque, a temple, a buddhist enclave, a wican meeting and a church. And if you know anyone from SF, you know that you have to work your butt off to survive here. If anyone knows how bad the economy is, it's a San Franciscan. I can't be out of work for ONE DAY and pay rent. I can't afford a house and don't get me started about gas prices! The nerve...

[FirstShirt]

Palin has the same credentials Bill Clinton had when he became President.

[skearly]

Well. actually he was a two term governor, 1978-1982 and 1983-1991. That compared to 18 months.

[SWL777]

She isn't running for President.

[joekerr]

Ok, so say I agree with your post. She has the same experience as Bill Clinton. What, pray tell me does that have to do with my comment? Is that your rebuttal? She has the same experience as Bill, so she can disparage a whole city of American's? She's got experience, so she doesn't have to talk about the real issues? She's got experience, so she can just lie about facts? Is that what her "experience" gets us? She's got experience, so she can belittle the actions of others? Come back when you actually have something to say.